1. TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to the scheduling of temporal events. More particularly, the invention relates to a time line for a desktop metaphor.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Time is variously defined as a nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future; an interval separating two points on this continuum; a duration; a number, as of years, days, or minutes, representing such an interval; a similar number representing a specific point on this continuum, reckoned in hours and minutes; and a system by which such intervals are measured or such numbers are reckoned. (Source: American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition (1993)).
By any definition, time management and scheduling is a major undertaking that, in itself, is increasingly time consuming. While many systems exist for time management and scheduling, none of these systems integrate time management and scheduling into the now ubiquitous electronic desktop. For example, personal information managers (PIMs) may provide a desktop resident time and scheduling resource, but such PIMs are typically independent applications that are in no way integrated into the system on which they run, let alone a network. Group scheduling software is also known, but requires that each member of the group use the same scheduling application. Further, such group scheduling software does not include functionality beyond that of simple scheduling, i.e. it does not provide sharing of documents pursuant to a meeting. Rather, such functionality must be provided by additional dedicated applications, such as work group applications which are largely unitary and homogenous.
However, in the real world, people interact in a disjoint and heterogenous fashion, scheduling meetings with persons in other locations, other companies, and other time zones, where such meetings may involve any of several topics keyed to specific documentation. Task-based, autonomous time management, if available, would provide a powerful tool for simplifying human interaction and time management.
Another limitation of present day time management and scheduling solutions is the manner in which they are integrated into the electronic desktop. While a time bar may be shown as part of a window, such time displays are limited vis-a-vis relative time, e.g. time of day, day at a glance, and time zone differentiation, and are further limited solely to time management and scheduling, i.e. they do not incorporate such functionality as intranet and Internet access, smart agents, or extended features, such as word processing, email, and database access/management. Thus, the time function is, as yet, not fully integrated into the electronic desktop in a seamless and transparent fashion, especially in a fashion that integrates and exploits the full functionality of the local system on which it resides, and any network to which the system is connected.
Such limitations are found in the art due to a perspective that views time management and scheduling as an independent function that may be optionally addressed in a stand-alone manner. It would be advantageous to provide a time management and scheduling user interface that is centered on autonomous processing of whole tasks rather than sequences of commands, as well as the autonomous detection of contexts which require the launch of a process, where such context is time-based.